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Background documentationReal-Time Payments

 

You use real-time payments when payments are initiated externally (such as on a Web interface) to forward the payment data directly to the bank and handle the immediate bank confirmation.

The following payment scenarios are supported:

  • Real-time payments can be incoming or outgoing payments. Payment can be made using a bank account or a credit card.

  • For payments made with a bank account, you can initially only create a payment order. When the bank confirms the payment, the system posts the payment order automatically using a payment order lot.

  • For payments by credit card, you cannot use payment orders. That means, that credit cards and payment orders are mutually exclusive in the case of real-time payments.

  • Business partners identify themselves by entering a bank account, credit card, or one-time payment card, or using a virtual bank account.

    For a real-time payment method of the category Real-Time Payment Using Virtual Bank Account, the information about the payment is already sent from the bank to your company, so that a subsequent check of whether the payment can be executed by the bank is not necessary

    Example Example

    A business partner wants to pay one of her receivables and identifies herself using a virtual bank account. You assigned the virtual bank account to the business partner beforehand. The bank forwarded a list of virtual bank accounts to you earlier. You assigned one of these numbers to the business partner.

    End of the example.

    In event 6208, the system determines the business partner belonging to the virtual bank account.

    In event 6021 (after the selection of the items, before clearing control is called), you can restrict the selection of the items that can be paid with the virtual bank account.

    In event 6230 (after the selection of the items and after clearing control is called), you can, with dependence on the virtual bank account, check the assignment of the payment amount to the individual items, and reject the payment for example.

Features

In Contract Accounts Receivable and Payable, you handle real-time payments using the functions for processing payments at external cash desks. The system always accepts real-time payments by means of an external branch or cash desk. You have to enter an external cash desk or branch for each real-time payment.

Although the payment run neither creates nor processes real-time payments, the system uses payment methods of the Real-Time Payment (RTP) category to control processing. Documents, contracts, and contract accounts can contain real-time payments. The payment method can be used for the following, for example:

  • Determining the format for communication with the bank

    For each real-time payment method, you define a format, as you do for creating payment media.

  • Identifying an item, a contract account, or a contract as taking part in the real-time payment process

    There are events you can use, where, based on the real-time payment method, the system can derive whether an item, contract account, or contract takes part in the real-time payment process.

    In Customizing, you have to configure any payment methods that you want to use for real-time payments so they can be used in this way.

  • Dunning Notices

    If an incoming payment method is defined for a document, contract account, or contract, the standard system does not perform dunning, since the receivable is allowed to be collected. This logic does not apply for incoming payment methods of the Real-Time Payment category. In that case, you expect a payment. The payment run does not collect the payment, and therefore a dunning notice is created if payment is not made. With regard to payment data from the contract, see the documentation of sample function module FKK_SAMPLE_0365.

The processing logic for real-time payments is more similar to that of the payment lot than to that of the payment run:

  • The bank data of the paying business partner comes from outside, is it does for payment lots.

    In the case of real-time payments, it comes from the interface of the service; for payment lots it comes from the account statement. The data is not determined during a process, as it is for the payment run.

  • The house bank data originates externally.

    The interface of the service names the external cash desk and branch, from which the house bank data results. There is no bank selection as there is in the payment run. Payment locks are not included in this report. A real-time payment represents a represents a consciously-made payment on the part of a direct payer, which is always accepted.

  • The system does not determine any alternative payers.

    The items to be paid are determined solely from the selection criteria. Clearing control assigns the payment amount.

  • There are no payment-method-specific checks.

Real-time payments are triggered and administered using Web services. There are OData service interfaces that do the following:

  • Accept and process payments (O2C_FICA_RTP_PAYMENT_SRV)

  • Determine the payment status (O2C_FICA_RTP_GET_STATUS_SRV)

  • Reverse payments (O2C_FICA_RTP_REVERSAL_SRV)

  • Check the assignment of a virtual account to a business partner (O2C_FICA_RTP_CHK_VIRTUALACC_SRV)

  • Receive and process asynchronous bank responses (O2C_FICA_RTP_COMM_IN_SRV)

Activities

  1. Activate real-time payments for each company code in Customizing for Contract Accounts Receivable and Payable under Start of the navigation path Organizational Units Next navigation step Set Up Company Codes for Contract Accounts Receivable and Payable End of the navigation path by setting the Real-Time Payments Active indicator.

  2. In the Define Master Data activity in Customizing for Contract Accounts Receivable and Payable under Start of the navigation path Business Transactions Next navigation step Payments Next navigation step Processing Incoming and Outgoing Payments Next navigation step External Cash Desk Services End of the navigation path, for each house bank that is intended to receive real-time payments, define an external branch. In the same activity, for each house bank account, define an external cash desk with category C (Real-Time Payment) in this external branch.

  3. Configure payment methods that you want to use for real-time payments in Customizing for Contract Accounts Receivable and Payable under Start of the navigation path Business Transactions Next navigation step Payments Next navigation step Incoming/Outgoing Payment Creation Next navigation step Define Payment Methods End of the navigation path by entering the value Real-Time Payment or Real-Time Payment Using Virtual Bank Account in the Real-Time field.

  4. Make system settings for processing real-time payments in Customizing for Contract Accounts Receivable and Payable under Start of the navigation path Business Transactions Next navigation step Payments Next navigation step Processing Incoming and Outgoing Payments Next navigation step Real-Time Payments End of the navigation path in the following activities:

    • Make General Settings

    • Define Cash Desk Structure

    • Define Master Data

    • Define Cash Desk Clearing Accounts

    • Define Document Types

    • Define Default Payment Methods

    • Enter Bank Clearing Accounts for Payment Orders and Returns

  5. Activate the OData services in your SAP NetWeaver Gateway system.

    To do so, in Customizing for SAP NetWeaver, choose Start of the navigation path Gateway Next navigation step OData Channel Next navigation step Administration Next navigation step General Settings Next navigation step Activate and Manage Services End of the navigation path.

    To add a service, choose Add Service Add Service (Add Service), enter your system alias and confirm your entry. Then you can add the services you want from the list.

More Information

Using Payment Orders

Processing Payment Orders